Compact Libraries®

The Heritage-History Compact Libraries ® were created to provide history lovers with access to an entire library of juvenile and general interest classics at a very low per-book price.

In an ideal world, everyone who was interested in traditional history would have access to a library filled with high quality, entertaining history books, such as those available at Heritage History. Unfortunately, amassing such a collection of professionally bound books would be exceedingly expensive. Most of the books on the Heritage web pages are available only as print-on-demand paperbacks or as expensive and delicate antiques—and some are not available in print at any price.

As a practical solution, therefore, we have created the Heritage History Compact Libraries. Each library contains 60 to 90 books that were selected to be of special interest to a particular audience. Each book in these libraries has been carefully prepared in an attractive, ready-to-print format so that purchasers of these libraries may easily print and bind them. And because public-domain sources were used as a basis for these texts, Heritage History can grant permission to reproduce them for personal and educational purposes. (See Copyright Information for more details.)

A description of each of our currently available libraries is given here. To review the contents of a specific library, select the collection of interest.

Details	Young Readers Collection This collection contains a miscellany of legends, myths, stories from history, short biographies, American anecdotes, Bible stories, historical fiction, and other material appropriate for grammar school students or young readers. The focus of this collection is not on comprehensive histories, but rather on introducing young people to a broad collection of fascinating legends and historical tales. Contains 86 books, 4730 sheets, Price $30.00
Details	Greek and Roman Collection This collection is oriented toward students in middle school and above, who are undertaking a systematic study of ancient civilizations. The library features mythology and introductory histories appropriate for younger readers as well as adapted classics for more advanced readers. Of particular interest are simplified versions of original works by Herodotus, the Greek playwrights, Josephus, Plutarch and other ancient authors, as well as detailed biographies of the Ancients by Jacob Abbott. Contains 64 books, 6046 sheets, 138 maps, Price $30.00
Details	British Collection This collection provides resources for a serious study of the British isles and includes history and literature selections appropriate for a wide range of ages. The well known Our Island Story from H.E. Marshall is featured along with several other excellent series, and dozens of biographies of famous Britons. Simplified accounts of several British classics are included, as well as brief histories of British Imperial territories. Contains 81 books, 6860 sheets, 134 maps, Price $30.00
Details	Intermediate Readers Collection This collection includes many of our favorite series for intermediate readers, including Du Chaillu's matchless stories of exploration in the African jungles; Van Bergen's Asian histories, and Hodges' Saints and Heroes series. Specially featured in our collection are American History, European History, Bible and Saint Stories, military history, and stories of science and invention. Contains 60 books, 6816 sheets, Price $30.00
Details	Mature Readers Collection This collection features several outstanding series for mature readers, including Charles Morris Historical Tales (12 volumes), the Abbott's Makers of History (25 volumes), and Frederick Ober's History of American Explorers (8 volumes). Also featured is our collection of World War I battle stories, and comprehensive histories of the Netherlands, Mexico, and North American Indians. Contains 61 books, 6281 sheets, Price $30.00

Each book in Heritage History's Compact Libraries is presented in an attractive, readable format that is suitable for both reading online and for printing on regular 8 by 11 sheets of paper. Self-publishing is made easy, but it is not required for enjoying these collections—they can be easily read on line using the Adobe PDF reader. Samples of several of our PDF print-ready books are available as follows:

The landscape format in which these books have been formatted has been optimized for both reading electronically, and printing on regular office copy paper. The Adobe PDF reader which is employed to read these books online is widely available and can be download for free onto any computer. The PDF reader has a wide range of features and allows users to view the books in full-page mode, full-screen mode, or user specified magnification and the PDF format is supported by all modern printers, and guarantees the highest possible printing quality.

In addition to books, each Library contains a substantial amount of reference material that relates to the theme of the particular library. Abbreviated samples of some of this reference material can be inspected by selecting the following links.

• Color images, taken from the books in the collection
• Series descriptions
• Book summaries

Of particular interest to many people is Heritage History's fine collection of historical images. Many of the books in the Compact Libraries were lavishly illustrated, and in order to make these pictures easy to view, they are organized into a directory so that they may be surveyed independently of the associated text. By purchasing a compact library you get access not only to the texts but also to copies of all of the high quality images contained in the books within each collection.

The Series Descriptions and Book Summaries found on each library are proprietary to Heritage History and were developed, along with other navigational aids to help users locate the books of greatest interest in each library. Book are sorted by genre and civilization, but also by series and author. Readers can use the information in these short descriptions to determine the most suitable books from among related texts.

Two of Heritage History's Compact Libraries are organized by civilization; the rest are organized by general reading level. Heritage History's Greek and Roman Collection and British collection are of special interest to those students who are undertaking the systematic study of one of these civilizations. They include books of all reading levels, so could be useful to any students from middle school through college studies. In addition to books, Civilization specific Compact Libraries contain a variety of other study aids, illustrated by the following samples.

• Historical Maps
• Timelines
• Lists of important characters
• Lists of prominent wars and battles

These study aids make the Compact Libraries an invaluable resource for students of Ancient or Western civilizations. The books themselves, as well as the study aids are fact-based rather than analytical and are accessible to motivated students of all ages.

Several of Heritage History's Compact Libraries are organized by general reading level rather than by civilization. The collections for young, intermediate, and mature readers contain books in a wide variety of genres and historical topics that were selected for their breadth as well as their entertainment value. They were selected especially for readers who are inspired by curiosity and human interest rather than methodical study. The Young Readers collection consists of books thought to be of interest to grammar school children; the Intermediate Readers collection consists of books of greater sophistication, more appropriate for middle school and high school students; and the Mature Readers collection contains an outstanding selection of histories, including many biographies, and is most appropriate for college-prep or older readers.

Even those traditional books we recommend for our most sophisticated audience, however, are of a different style than most modern books written for adults. All of the books in our collections emphasis human interest stories, and present history in a dramatic, rather than an analytical style. They are therefore more "readable", than many contemporary accounts. If such histories were widely available in bookstores and libraries today, there would be little reason to republish these classics, but in fact, histories that emphasize drama and story-telling, over analytical polemics are exceedingly rare among modern works. Even many college-educated adults, who are accustomed to much more ponderous tomes may find much to hold their interest in these volumes.

All of the books in Heritage History's Compact Libraries were created from public domain sources, meaning the original versions were first published before 1923 in the United States or Great Britain. The reproductions made available by Heritage History, however, are private property, and the restrictions we place on their dissemination must be adhered to. Although we allow and encourage the use of these works for personal and educational use, we prohibit their reproduction for commercial or re-sale purposes. These are the same restrictions we have placed on the use of the material made available on the Heritage History Website.

The copyright restrictions on each item in our library is clearly indicated and described in detail on the Conditions and Terms of Use page which is included with each Compact Library. These terms should be reviewed and understood before reproducing any portion of the Heritage History Compact Libraries.